One clever 14-year-old has devised a plan to save the government millions just by changing the font they use on official documents.

Suvir Mirchandani worked out that by using Garamond font, which is lighter and thinner, it would use around 25 per cent less ink than the favoured Times New Roman.

When he began to come up with project ideas for a school science fair, it suddenly dawned on the teenager that while huge efforts have been made to save paper, little attention has been paid to the ink.

By switching to a Garamond font, it is estimated the US government could save up to 25 per cent on ink (Picture: CNN)

‘Ink is two times more expensive than French perfume by volume,’ Suvir told CNN with a chuckle.

He started to work out how much his school could save after realising how many leaflets they handed out to pupils.

But after extending the study to the national level Suvir calculated that between the US federal and state governments, savings of up to $400m (£240m) could be made.

It is estimated the average US federal employee prints out 7,200 pieces of paper per year – making the government’s annual printing expenditure $1.8bn (£1.1bn).

‘We were so impressed. We could really see the real-world application in Suvir’s paper,’ explained Sarah Fankhauser from the Journal for Emerging Investigators.

Although government officials have been hesitant to implement a change, Suvir hopes his findings can help everyday consumers across the country – and even the world.